First impressions
It seems like the TaylorMade M1 will be replacing the R15 driver from TaylorMade which was the No.1 driver on tour last year.
At £429 it’s clear this is TaylorMade’s super-premium fully adjustable driver with Aeroburner available to those who want a more off-the-shelf driver.
Visually, the M1 is stunning on both the crown and the sole.
The way the carbon composite crown is broken up by the white looks pretty cool and also forms an effective alignment aid.
There’s now two sliding weights on the sole of the club and there’s also adjustability in the hosel. With all these combinations, a proper custom-fit is essential.
For more details on the M1 range CLICK HERE
The Tech
WATCH: Behind the tech with TaylorMade’s Brian Bazzel
Much of the technology in the M1 comes from the carbon composite crown as that made significant weight savings allowing the centre of gravity to be driven down towards the sole of the club.
The M1 Driver features one 15g moveable weight in the Front Track, sliding from heel to toe, allowing golfers to adjust their draw or fade bias by up to 25 yards.
Similarly, the Back Track on the M1 Driver allows the golfer 10g of moveable weight, sliding from front to back, permitting up to 300rpm of backspin and 0.8 degree in launch angle adjustment.
The entire T-Track system has been placed low on the sole so regardless of moveable weight positions, the club still maintains a low centre of gravity to deliver optimal trajectory.
M1 has an incredibly low CG, lower than R15 in fact, which essentially projects at centre face and increases the energy transfer at impact.
Performance/ NCG Verdict
I hadn’t been custom-fitted into the M1 so was using a driver in a spec built for a colleague.
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I don’t think the shaft (Aldila Rogue 70 110 MSI stiff) or the positioning of the weights on the sole were too far wrong for me though.
One thing which stood out straight away was the sound on impact. I hadn’t been a fan of the sound off the face of either the SLDR or the R15 as I found it a bit harsh and ‘smacky’.
The M1 has a lovely sweet sound off the face (something the TaylorMade R&D team worked hard on to improve) and I think this enhances the overall user experience.
I was very impressed with the ball speed numbers I was getting which were creeping towards 150mph at times.
After hitting 10 shots my average distance was 250 yards with the longest at 264 and the shortest at 240. I’ll take that as a 17 handicapper all day long as you could add to that when using a premium ball rather than the range balls I was using on the day.
My smash factor (swing efficiency) wasn’t great but I was still getting decent numbers out of the M1 which makes me think a proper custom-fit could add further improvements still.
The shaft I was using was 70g and I’m much more used to a 60g. I’s be more likely to drop to 50g rather than going up to 70g.
In conclusion, this is a fantastic-looking driver which sounds and performs fantastically well. TaylorMade do receive criticism for brining out new product quite quickly but I don’t think you can ever question the quality. They do what they say they are going to do.
The price tag may put some people off but TaylorMade fans won’t be disappointed once they get the M1 in their hands.
As always, the best way to get the most out of this driver is to get it dialled into your swing by your local PGA pro or nearest TaylorMade fitter.
Star Rating: ★★★★★ (5)
Details
Available: October 8, 2015
SRP: £429
Lofts: M1 460 – 8.5°, 9.5°, 10.5° & 12°
M1 430 – 8.5°, 9.5°, 10.5°
Shafts: Fujikura Pro 60, Kuro Kage Silver TiNi 60, Aldila Rogue 70 110 MSI.
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